Newsweek Ranks Adobe World’s Greenest IT Company

June 06, 2014 06:18 PM Eastern Daylight Time

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Adobe (NASDAQ:
ADBE) has been ranked the second greenest company in the United States,
and third greenest in the world, according to Newsweek’s 2014 Green
Rankings released this week. In the category of IT companies, Adobe tops
the list both in the U.S. and globally.

The Newsweek
Green Rankings are based on data evaluations of the world’s 500
largest companies by market capitalization. The rankings are compiled by
an independent research company, Corporate Knights Capital, and
sustainability experts from NGOs, academic and accounting organizations.

The 2014 ranking
methodology considers six key principles: transparency; objectivity;
public data; comparability; engagement; and stakeholders. Companies are
scored based on their performance on eight specific indicators. These
include “productivity” in energy, greenhouse gases, water and waste. The
rankings also take into account the existence of a sustainability board;
the existence of third-party environmental metrics; and “sustainability
pay link,” which attempts to tie the earnings of senior executives to
the achievement of certain corporate environmental targets.

More than 70 percent of all workspaces at Adobe are LEED certified.
Since 2000, the company has implemented measures to reduce water
consumption in its workspaces by 62 percent. In 2013 alone, 27 percent
of energy at the San Jose headquarters was produced by on-site renewable
electricity and 100 percent of waste was diverted from landfills. The
company has cut electricity usage by 50 percent since 2002 which has
helped it achieve carbon neutrality at its owned North American
facilities this year.

“This ranking is a clear recognition of our deep commitment to managing
our environmental impact and to the transparency of our operations,”
said Michelle Crozier Yates, director of corporate responsibility, Adobe.

“Adobe continually strives to exceed industry certification standards in
the way they design and maintain their buildings. While making its
workspaces healthy for its employees, they have managed to maximize
efficiencies for its business and significantly reduce its impact on the
environment. It’s no surprise that its leadership is being recognized by
Newsweek,” said Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO & founding chairman, US
Green Building Council.